Anthrax scare moves news show

BY CHARLES RABIN crabin@herald.com

More than 100 employees and the production of WPLG-ABC 10's Thursday evening news broadcasts were moved from Miami to the company's Fort Lauderdale facility after an anthrax scare.

A newsroom secretary opened a ``suspicious'' letter addressed to the station's Wall of Fame, which publicizes war heroes on a nightly basis. The envelope contained a white powdery substance and a note condemning the news station for publicizing the war in Afghanistan.

``I hope you don't inhale this. Ha Ha Ha,'' said the letter, punctuated with an upside-down smiley face, according to Channel 10 Vice President and General Manager John Garwood.

Miami Assistant Fire Chief Joe Fernandez said the type of threat at a high-profile facility was enough to shut down the television station at 3900 Biscayne Blvd. until at least this afternoon, when results of a culture taken from the sample will be conclusive.

Fernandez said it's the first facility in Miami, to his knowledge, that has been shut down due to an anthrax threat.

Anthrax contamination has forced the shutdown of some mail facilities in the Washington, D.C., and New Jersey areas, and caused cautious officials to close some government buildings in Washington. So far, four people have died after exposure to anthrax.

Curiously, the letter contained a return address and a name: S. Bailey, at 4400 NW 36th St., in Lauderhill. A spokeswoman for the FBI said no one by that name lives in that apartment complex.

Channel 10's 5 p.m. newscast opened Thursday with anchors Kristi Krueger and Dwight Lauderdale in a new location.

Published Friday, November 16, 2001

Miami Herald Link

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2001

Answers

Guess where their mail is processed...

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2001

MIAMI

TV station letter tests negative for anthrax

Tests done by the Miami-Dade Health Department of a suspicious substance mailed to WPLG-ABC 10 on Thursday tested negative for anthrax, said John Garwood, station vice president and general manager.

The 100 station employees, who worked from the company's Fort Lauderdale facility Thursday evening, returned Friday afternoon to the Miami office at 3900 Biscayne Blvd.

Garwood said the FBI will continue to look into the case. Thursday, an employee received an envelope containing a white, powdery substance and a threatening letter. A name and return address were on the envelope, but there was no one by that name at the apartment complex.

Miami Fire-Rescue determined the letter was suspicious enough to evacuate the building.

Herald Link

[note: this follow up was in a small article area of the paper, not on the front page of any section. I di dnot hear anything about it on the tv news last night, like I did with the first news article. Hmmm]

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2001

heard last night that the cases we work at were cleaned with bleach because this letter went thru our facility.

If it was negative....why?

Um, yeah, the cases I work with.

[feeling okay, mostly.]

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Let them err on the side of caution, BF.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001